


The Monster at the End of this Story

by Ailelie



Category: Inspector Spacetime, Sesame Street (TV), The Monster at the End of This Book - Michael J. Smolin
Genre: Children's Literature, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Monsters, POV Male Character, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, metafic, muppets - Freeform, this fic is brought to you by the letter M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 21:10:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/300079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailelie/pseuds/Ailelie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ninth Inspector, played by Mark Williams, saw a return to genuine, somewhat realistic, and well-plotted tales of the earlier Inspectors before the strange wackiness of the sixth morph or the staid, ill-written episodes of the seventh. In addition, Williams brought a gravitas to the role that drew back many wayward fans, while creating even more.</p><p>Not all involved in the Inspector Spacetime franchise were pleased, however. One writer, in response to several rejected scripts, wrote a series of short stories featuring her plots. 'The Monster at the End of this Story' (TMES) was intended for early series two, shortly after the introduction of Lily Taylor. The episode deals with the initial friction between the Inspector and Lily in Rory's absence, while also alluding back to the well-known puppet episode from the Sixth Inspector's run.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Page 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jessalae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessalae/gifts).



> If you do not know who the Inspector is, [read here](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InspectorSpacetime)
> 
> If you do not know _The Monster at the End of this Book_ , [read here](http://smollin.com/michael/tmonstr/mon001.html) on the author's site.
> 
> With thanks to hhertzof and cinaed for beta'ing.

 The landscape was white. Pale, shiny, endless white. Like an egg. Or emptiness.

"This is all where and when?" Lily asked, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "It doesn't look like much."

The Inspector frowned at the phone dial. "Something seems off with the coordinates." He pressed the hookswitch rapidly, prompting the D.A.R.S.I.T.'s light voice to kindly tell him off. Too kindly. His frown deepened. "Something," he proclaimed in a portentous voice, which means he said it very seriously, "is very wrong."

"Is it safe to get out?" Lily asked. She was already reaching for the door. Lily was new. She did not understand the Inspector's portentous voice. She did not understand much of anything yet. The Inspector sighed and examined the glass around the D.A.R.S.I.T.

Everything was clear. Oxygen, nitrogen, poison gas—everything was at safe and adequate levels. Even in London, the glass smoked a little or featured small cards with smiling women, dire warnings, and convenient phone numbers.

"Yes," he answered distractedly. "It's safe."

"Good!" Lily said. She pushed the doors open. "I was getting very cramped in there."

This irritated him more than anything else Lily had done so far. He followed her out. "There is always," he started to say, but Lily interrupted him, which is a very rude thing to do.

"Room for one more," she said. "I know."

Together, the Inspector and Lily looked around. They and the D.A.R.S.I.T. were the only things that were not the same, even white.

"This is very creepy," Lily said. The Inspector had to agree.

Then someone screamed in terror. Lily started running toward the scream, reminding him why he'd invited her along in the first place. The Inspector ran, too.

Then the world shook and the wind howled.


	2. Page 2

"Look, Inspector!" Lily cried out. "I see something blue."

"Maybe," said the Inspector, "that is the person who screamed."

"Let's go ask," Lily said.

The Inspector and Lily ran to the blue person.

The blue person was curled on the ground and shaking. He was very, very blue, and very, very fuzzy.

The Inspector knelt down and, in a kind voice, asked, "Hello. Are you all right?"

The blue person looked up. He had a large, round pink nose and big, black eyes. "No," the person said. "I am not all right at all."

"What's wrong?" Lily asked.

The blue person looked around. He waved them closer. Then, quietly, he said, "There is a monster. Every time the page turns, we get closer."

"The page turns?" Lily repeated.

The Inspector looked around. He thought about the very white world. He thought about how nice the D.A.R.S.I.T.'s had been. He thought about how strange his own thoughts sounded. Then he understood.

"We are," he started to say, once again using his portentous voice, but then the world shook and the wind howled.


	3. Page 3

"In a book," the Inspector finished.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Yes."

"He's right," the blue person said. "My name is Grover, and this is my book. No one told me about the monster though."

"The monster must be very terrible," the Inspector said.

Grover shivered. "The worst of the worst _of the worst_. That's why we have to stop the reader." He waved his hand upward where the sky should have been. "The book can't end. If it does, the monster will _eat_ us."

"I don't think I like this where and when," Lily said.

"We can fix this," the Inspector said. "First, we must change the story."

"How?" Grover asked. "I did not think books could be changed."

"Everything," the Inspector said, "can be changed."

Then the world shook and the wind howled.


	4. Page 4

"What can we do?" Grover asked. He looked sad. The Inspector stopped. _Sad_ was not the word he had wanted to think. He did not mind the simpler language of the _dialogue_ and descriptions, but within his own mind he would use the words he wanted to use. Grover seemed _despondent._ There. Much better.

"First," the Inspector said, "we must talk to the reader. If we tell them why they should stop, then maybe they will."

"All right," Lily said. She turned and stared upward. "HEY," she yelled. "HEY, YOU READING OUT THERE! STOP!" The Inspector watched her _with unexpected admiration_. Many Associates hadn't adapted so quickly and easily. The last one who had done so was Rory, his only other Associate in this Morph. He let the sad thought trail off, feeling the book's frustration with him; his private thoughts were not relevant to the story.

The Inspector turned and reached toward the one who _was_ relevant. "Come on, Grover," he said. "Let's help her out. This is your story, after all."

"But what if we wake up the monster?" Grover asked.

The Inspector helped Grover to his feet. "Don't worry about that," he said. "Remember, the monster is only at the end. He can't get us yet."

Lily was inspired. She jumped and spun. She shook her arms and wiggled her fingers. "HEY, HEY, ARE YOU LISTENING?" Her bellows echoed. No monsters roared in response, which seemed to convince Grover. He stomped up next to Lily and waved his own arms wildly.

"STOP READING!" shouted Grover. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? THERE IS A _MONSTER_ AT THE END OF THIS BOOK!"

"Inspector!" Lily said suddenly. She turned toward him, bouncing on the balls of her feet, and pointing at something above and behind her. "Do you see that?"

The Inspector looked, but then the world shook and the wind howled.


	5. Page 5

Grover stopped jumping and waving his arms. "They kept turning the page," he said in a blank voice. The Inspector squeezed his shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

"The book is not over yet," he reminded him. Then he turned to Lily. "What did you find?"

Lily grinned. " _Pages_."

The Inspector followed the line of her finger. Certainly enough, if he squinted just right, he could see the pale, grey outline of pages.

"If we can see the pages," Lily said. "Maybe we can stop them from turning."

Grover perked up. "Then the readers can't finish the book and the monster can't eat us. I like that idea. We can use rope!" He paused. "Do you have rope?"

"Yes," Lily said with far too much confidence. The Inspector winced. The D.A.R.S.I.T. was not going to like dispensing this bit of currency. "We'll just draw it," Lily added.

The Inspector blinked, distracted from his mental image of pulling a long rope from the change box of the phone booth. "That's an excellent idea," he said. He pulled a collection of markers from his jacket. He was not sure why he had pocketed them at Lily's house since they ruined the line of his outfit, but now he was glad he had.

"Aren't those mine?" Lily asked, grabbing at them.

"No one will ever notice they were missing," the Inspector promised. "Give me a yellow; we have a rope to draw."

They worked together and drew the rope as quickly as they could. Grover took each length as they finished, tying it over the pages. "No one will ever be able to turn the pages now," he said.

But then the world shook and the wind howled.


	6. Page 6

The rope fluttered down around them in a useless heap.

"It didn't work," Grover said, kicking at the rope. Then he lunged at the markers. "I know! Nails! Or, bricks!"

Lily shifted from foot to foot. "Should we help him? Do you think nails or bricks will help?"

Grover kept furiously drawing supplies. "And boards and cement and then _no one_ will be able to finish the book!"

The Inspector shook his head. "I fear it is too late," he said. "Look at the pages," he said. "We only have one left."

"What are we going to do?" Lily asked.

"We will protect Grover," the Inspector said. "We'll do what we always do in that we'll do as we can."

Grover started nailing boards against the white. "YOU HAVE TO STOP READING," he shouted to the emptiness once again.

But then the world shook and the wind howled.


	7. Page 7

"Owww," Grover said. All of his boards and nails had crashed down over his head. "Maybe I should have tried the bricks first."

"Grover," the Inspector said. "I think it is too late for that. We're here. This is the end of the book."

Grover looked at him, stricken. "But, but I'm not ready."

Lily bent down, taking both of Grover's hands. "We'll help you," she promised. Then, straightening, she asked the Inspector, "So where is the monster?"

"There," the Inspector said, pointing. Against the whiteness stood six very tall and terrible letters. They read: T H E E N D.

"The End?" Lily read, confused. "But that's _normal_."

"In my experience," the Inspector said, "normal things are often the most terrifying." He did not add that endings were the most horrible of all. Lily was still fresh and new, still at the start of her story.

"What do I do?" Grover asked tremulously. He was staring at the silent letters and trembling.

"You have a choice," the Inspector said. "You can end this story, your story, and join me and Lily on our adventures, or you can go back to the beginning and try again to keep this moment from happening."

"I think the bricks would have worked," Grover said.

"And if they don't?" the Inspector asked, kneeling so that he and Grover were on eye-level. "Are you willing to try again?"

Grover tilted his head. "I think so."

"Why?"

"Because this is my story. Someone has to warn the readers."

"Very well," said the Inspector, standing up. "Come on, Lily."

"Aren't you going to stay and help me?" Grover asked.

The Inspector shook his head. "As you said, this is your story, Grover. Lily and I have our own."

Lily pressed a blue marker into Grover's hand. "You can keep these. I hope you find your own way out of this story one day."

Grover threw his arms around her. "Thank you," he said.

The Inspector turned away and started walking back to the D.A.R.S.I.T., ready for another where and when with Lily at his side. He had new stories to tell, after all.

The world shook and the wind howled.


	8. Page 8




End file.
